introduction

I often receive emails from people who have read my first book, storytelling with data, or attended one of our workshops by the same name. There are notes of encouragement, support for the work we’re doing, and plenty of questions and requests. I especially love hearing the success stories: reports of having influenced a key business decision, spurred an overdue budget conversation, or prompted an action that positively impacted an organization’s bottom line. The most inspiring accounts are those of personal growth and recognition. One grateful reader applied storytelling with data principles during an interview, helping him land a new job. All of this success is the result of people from different industries, functions, and roles committing time to improve their ability to communicate with data.

I also hear regularly from people who want more. They’ve read the book and understand the potential impact of telling stories with data, but struggle with the practical application to their own work. They have additional questions or feel they are facing nuanced situations that are keeping them from having the desired impact. It’s clear that people crave more guidance and practice to help fully develop their data storytelling skills.

Others reach out who are—or would like to be—teaching the lessons outlined in storytelling with data. In many cases, they are university instructors (it’s amazing to think that storytelling with data is used as a textbook at more than 100 universities around the world!) or they are a part of a learning and development function within an organization, interested in building an in-house course or training program. There are also leaders, managers, and individual contributors who want to upskill their teams or provide good coaching and feedback to others.

This book addresses all of these needs for individuals, teachers, and leaders. By sharing invaluable insight through many practical examples, guided practice, and open-ended exercises, I will help build your confidence and credibility when it comes to applying and teaching others to apply the storytelling with data lessons.

How this book is organized & what to expect

Each chapter starts with a brief recap of the key lessons that are covered in storytelling with data. This is followed by:

practice with Cole: exercises based on real-world examples posed for you to consider and solve, accompanied by detailed step-by-step illustration and explanation

practice on your own: more exercises and thought-provoking questions for you to work through individually without prescribed solutions

practice at work: thoughtful guidance and hands-on exercises for applying the lessons learned on the job, including practical instruction on when and how to solicit useful feedback and iterate to refine your work from good to great

Much of the content you’ll encounter here is inspired by our storytelling with data workshops. Because these sessions span many industries, so do the examples upon which I’ll draw. We’ll navigate between different topics—from digital marketing to pet adoption to sales training—giving you a rich and varied set of situations to learn from as you hone your data storytelling skills.

Warning: this is not a traditional book that you sit and read. To get the most out of it, you’ll want to make it a fully interactive experience. I encourage you to highlight, add bookmarks, and take notes in the margins. Expect to be flipping between pages and examples. Draw, discuss with others, and practice in your tools. This book should be beat up by the time you’re done with it: that will be one indication that you’ve utilized it to the fullest extent!

How to use this book in conjunction with the original

SWD: let’s practice! works as a great companion guide to storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals (Wiley, 2015; henceforth referred to as SWD). It will not replace the in-depth lessons taught there, but rather augment them with additional dialogue, many more examples, and a focus on hands-on practice.

This book generally follows the same chapter structure as SWD with a couple of differences, as shown in Figure 0.1. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 are comprehensive exercises that offer additional guidance and practice applying the lessons covered throughout SWD and here.

Figure 0.1 How SWD chapters correspond to this book

If you’ve picked up both SWD and SWD: let’s practice!, you can use them in a couple of ways. You can read SWD once from start to finish to understand the big picture before digging into specifics. From there, you can determine which lessons you’d like to practice and can dive into the relevant sections within this book. Alternatively, you can peruse SWD one chapter at a time, then turn here to practice what you’ve read through hands-on exercises.

If you’ve already read SWD, feel free to jump right in as you will be familiar with these topics.

And if you’ve only bought this book, there is enough context within to give you the basics. You can always pick up a copy of SWD or check out the many resources at storytellingwithdata.com for supplemental guidance.

Do you want to learn or teach?

SWD: let’s practice! was written with two different audiences in mind, united by a common goal—to communicate more effectively with data. Broadly, these two distinct groups are:

1. Those wanting to learn how to communicate more effectively with data, and
2. Those wanting to provide feedback, coach, or teach others how to communicate more effectively with data.

While the content is relevant for both groups, there will be subtle differences when it comes to getting the most out of it. Depending on your goal, the following strategies will maximize efficiency.

I want to learn to communicate more effectively with data

Because some later content builds upon or refers back to earlier content or exercises, begin with Chapter 1 and work through in numerical order. After that, you’ll likely find yourself revisiting sections of interest and focusing your practice based on your specific needs and goals.

Start by reviewing the lesson recap for a given chapter. If you encounter anything that isn’t familiar and you have access to SWD, turn back to the corresponding chapter for additional context.

After that, move straight into the practice with Cole exercises. First, work through each on your own—don’t just jump to the solution (you’re only cheating yourself!). If you’re using this book with others, many of these activities lend themselves well to group discussion. The exercises in this section don’t necessarily need to be worked through in order, though they do occasionally build upon prior exercises.

Once you’ve spent time on the given exercise (not just in your head: I strongly encourage you to write, draw, and use your tools), read through the provided solution. Observe where there are similarities and differences between that and your response. Be aware that there are very few situations where there is a single “right” answer. Some approaches are better than others, but there are usually numerous ways to solve a given problem. My solutions illustrate just one method that applies the lessons covered in SWD. Do read through all of the solutions, as many points of advice, tips, and nuances will arise that you will find helpful and insightful.

After completing the practice with Cole exercises, turn to the practice on your own section for more. These problems are similar to those in the first section, except that they don’t include any predetermined solutions. If you are working in a group, have individuals first tackle a given exercise separately, then come together to present and discuss. Invariably, different people approach exercises in distinct ways, so you can learn a good deal through this sharing process. Conferring with others is also great practice for talking through your design choices and decisions, which can further clarify thinking and help improve future application. Whether completing on your own or as part of a group, get feedback on your recommended approach. This will help you understand if what you propose is working, as well as where you can iterate to further improve effectiveness.

If, at any time, you find yourself with a current project that would benefit from applying the lessons outlined in a specific chapter, flip straight to the practice at work exercise section within that chapter. These contain guided practice that can be applied directly to real-world work situations. The more you practice implementing the various lessons in a work setting, the more they will become second nature.

Each chapter ends with discussion questions related to the lessons. Talk through these with a partner or perhaps even use as the basis of a larger book club conversation.

While the exercise sections in each chapter focus primarily on applying the given lesson, Chapters 7, 8, and 9 offer more comprehensive examples and exercises for applying the entire storytelling with data process. Chapter 7...